


a holiday confession

by MaddestMaid3n



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28480032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddestMaid3n/pseuds/MaddestMaid3n
Summary: She hated deception on a good day and lying to one of her closest friends could give her the strongest pangs of unease. There was no way out of this, though. What could she say? Hey, let’s get the California Rolls and, by the way, I’ve been sleeping with your brother since January.or, a human!au in which klaus and caroline have an arrangement, but the holidays force them to face the facts.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 19
Kudos: 71





	a holiday confession

**Author's Note:**

> This was unintentionally an ode to one of my earlier fanfics, best friend's brother.

“Love, you’re being a tease,” His tone was accusatory, but the tender way he ran his fingers against her scalp gave him away. 

Lightly touching her lips against his hip bone, Caroline answered with an innocent look before dancing her slender digits back up his thigh. She skirted dangerously close to the hem of his underwear. Pausing only a beat longer, she wrapped her hand over him. A shot of satisfaction ran down her spine at his hardness and the way his eyes fluttered closed. When she tried to adjust her legs, she almost slipped off the twin bed. 

There are many reasons why Klaus’ apartment was a better location. His king size bed was seriously high on the list, tied with his incredible view over the city, walk-in shower and perfect distance from her favorite coffee shop. When she first came over, practically stumbling into a kiss, her eyes had caught the large glass windows. She pulled away to ask if they were in the right place and his answer was a laugh and then a hungry mouth.

To her dismay, this beautiful apartment was miles from the university, which left Caroline at her own place during the week. Which is why Klaus was flustered and half-naked on top of her single bed. It was a high risk yet high reward scenario and something in the past months had made her a gambler and quite a proficient one. Usually her odds were impeccable, he had slid in and out of her place almost fifty other times without detection.

“Caroline,” With the waistband of his briefs clenched between her teeth, Caroline froze. The sound of heels tapping just outside of her door cut through the air. “I am not going to bother asking if you have my dress. I’m going to give you until the count of 10 to hand it over.”

The steamy mood immediately dissipated and Caroline sat up with lightning speed. Announcing that she had someone over had never been an issue, especially with Rebekah Mikaelson. Admittedly, the first time they met, all those years ago in middle school, Caroline had almost instantaneously hated her. She had swooped in, with gorgeous hair and a freaking accent, and everyone practically fell over themselves to become the new girl’s best friend, boyfriend or girlfriend. Rebekah equally despised Caroline’s preppy energy and the girls had been bitter rivals for the first six months of the school year. It wasn’t until they were both volunteering for Miss Mystic Falls that the two had realized that they had more than blonde hair in common. Their friendship was made even better when Caroline found out Rebekah had no interest in running for Class President and Rebekah had realized that Caroline could be just as cruel as she could be kind. They were inseparable ever since, so no, admitting she had someone over hardly made either one of them feel awkward. What made it uncomfortable right now was that the man in question just happened to be her best friend’s brother.

“One,” Rebekah sang.

Ignoring the judgmental look on said brother’s face, she jumped off the bed. Clothes were scattered, prime evidence of their debauchery, and she grabbed her shirt with a stumble. 

“Two,”

Shooting him a pleading gaze, she kicked over his pants and he caught them with one hand. Klaus was begrudgingly accustomed to this melodrama. Kind as she could be, Caroline was often scrupulous when it came to so-called social norms. She had been like that as long as he knew her, but he didn’t realize just how fierce she was about them until they started up this arrangement.

“Three,”

With a sigh, he rolled off the bed as quietly as possible. The messy blonde spirited about the room, tossing his shoes into her closet. 

“Four,”

“Just a second,” Caroline said cheerfully through clenched teeth. Rebekah could be a pain, but thankfully she had the decency to warn her before trying to enter her room.

“Five,” _On second thought, maybe I will strangle her_. Caroline grabbed the little black dress from her hanger and slid over to the door. Klaus, shirt flung over his shoulder, laid against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Six,” _Please,_ Caroline mouthed and he nodded a promise of silence. 

“Seven,” 

Swinging the door open, Caroline came face to face with the other Mikaelson, who wore an unimpressed countenance that was eerily similar to the one her brother wore at that same moment. Hair carefully parted and lips a deep red, Rebekah held out a manicured hand. Keeping one hand on the door, Caroline passed the dress over. “You’re a drama queen,” 

Inspecting the fabric closely as if she were working for the TSA, her roommate quipped, “And you are a thief,” Apparently satisfied with the condition, she returned her attention to Caroline. “What are you doing for dinner?”

The original plan had included Chinese take-out after knocking out the final pages of her research paper for the _Contemporary Journalism and Ethics_ course, but a mid-morning text from Klaus had given her an extra kick of energy to finish early and leave her evening free. “Nothing. What are you thinking?” 

“I am heading to that new sushi place, down by the Quarter,” Making a face, Rebekah continued, “Kol was supposed to join, but he missed his flight, again.” 

In all their years of friendship, Caroline could count the amount of times that Rebekah had properly asked her to join a dinner, gala or even a salon trip on one hand. Her best friend was all subtext unless she was furious. “I’ll come with. When are you going?”

Already walking back down the hall, Rebekah called back, “Forty minutes. Oh, and Nik’s probably joining,” 

Shutting the door, Caroline threw herself on the bed with a groan. As much as she liked both Mikaelsons, the idea of sitting at the dinner table with them made her cringe. It was hard enough hiding evidence of him as it was, but the way he looked at her made it feel like the whole world was in on their secret. Rebekah would pick up on it and she didn’t want to have to explain how she just happens to be shacking up with her brother. 

Suddenly, a kiss was pressed against the exposed part of her shoulder. “I’ll be late,” He told her matter-of-factly, “Caught up with a pressing commitment, you know? I imagine Rebekah will bore you with her irritation,”

Peering up at him, she couldn’t help but smile. He was too smooth for her own good. His silver tongue was what got her in this predicament in the first place. “I don’t mind. Rather that than listen to Kol’s exploits,” 

Klaus winced, “He is obscenely detailed,”

Her eyes trailed to his lips, still swollen from their activities. It felt like she was with an entirely different Klaus in moments like these. Away from the rest of the world, he was less biting and, more recently, softer. When she met his gaze again, his stormy green eyes had lost their humor and were replaced with an intensity that she couldn’t read. Ignoring the swirling feeling in her belly, Caroline shot up from the bed. “I’ll check if she’s back in her room, so you can get back home. You can be fashionably late, then,” 

Quiet, he got up and started buttoning his still undone shirt. He paused, “It would be much easier if we just left together,” This wasn’t the first time he had mentioned something like this. Caroline expected more evasiveness from a man who seemingly enjoyed being an enigma to most people in his life, but he seemed less and less concerned about secrecy over the past few months. 

“Look, I like this set-up.” Friends-with-benefits, booty call, whatever you named it. There was something about it that just felt _easy,_ but involving the world, just the thought of it was decidedly the opposite. “I don’t want anyone ruining that, and come on, Klaus. If Rebekah knows, then Kol knows, which means Finn disapproves and Elijah will force us to attend double dates with him and Katherine and neither of us wants that,” She forced a laugh and started to turn towards the stuffed closet. 

Catching her by the waist, he spun her until she was flush against him. “I could care less what my siblings will say.”

Her eyes flickered away, uncomfortable with the way his words make her feel. In all fairness, she should have grown accustomed to him at this point. If this had been teenage Caroline, their proximity alone would have overwhelmed her and left her like putty in his hands. But knowing each other for more than ten years and a few relationships had all but cured her of her silly schoolgirl crush. Since she had gone to university, whatever butterflies she had transformed to profound irritation at his smirks and bullheadedness. That’s why this set-up was easy, it was just hooking up and there was nothing more to it. As if protesting her reasoning, her heart thumped painfully against her chest, surely loud enough for him to hear. “You don’t date, Klaus, remember?”

She remembered that, even when he pretended he didn't. After they had run into each other at Marcel’s bar _The Languid Lounge_ and ended up in his bed for a third time, he had traced patterns on her side and in the early hours of the morning they agreed that this could be an arrangement that they wouldn’t mind keeping casual. He had been surprised at her agreement and she didn’t blame him. Caroline wasn’t known for her casual dating and her last relationship had lasted three years. _Try not to get too attached, love,_ He had warned her and she had nipped at his earlobe in response and didn’t dwell on the twinge of hurt that hit her chest.

His grip loosened on her and his hands fell to his side. She’s sure that she imagined a flash of something unfamiliar before his eyes, but he was putting on his shoes before she could be sure of it.

As much as Caroline loved Christmas in Mystic Falls, she did not love the subzero temperatures. She appreciated the opportunity to bust out her winter fashion and often captured that perfect, ready for Davos ski couture, but New Orleans in the winter brought festive spectacles at perfect temperatures. The cooler weather of the Southern city meant it was as empty of tourists as it could be and she could enjoy it peacefully in the midst of her favorite holiday. 

This would be the first Christmas away from her mother, who was enjoying a well-deserved cruise around the Caribbean. Liz Forbes had originally protested and reacted like her daughter had offered her a one-way ticket to hell, but Caroline’s soft and persistent badgering finally convinced the sheriff to accept the gift. It had taken long hours at the student cafe to pay for the trip, but she relished the chance to help her mom relax. The chance to experience a Christmas with the Mikealsons would be one that most archivalists would kill for. The mix of chicness and biting passive aggressiveness would make her feel like she was in an episode of _Dynasty_ and she would certainly enjoy every bit of it with a strong glass of eggnog.

Peering over the menu at Rebekah, she felt another twinge of guilt. She hated deception on a good day and lying to one of her closest friends could give her the strongest pangs of unease. There was no way out of this, though. What could she say? _Hey, let’s get the California Rolls and, by the way, I’ve been sleeping with your brother since January._ The mental image of Rebekah’s reaction, first stone cold shock and then complete disgust and potentially blazing rage, warned her against any sudden holiday confession. She brought her attention back to the list of appetizers and asked, “How’re you doing?”

Rebekah quipped, “I’m peachy, although I’d be much happier if Nik could respect basic etiquette,”

Caroline hummed in agreement, scrutinizing the same line as if it were a codex before clearing her throat. Words forming carefully, she asked, “Have you heard from Matt?”

Although Kelly Clarkson and Brett Eldredge continued to croon over the restaurant's speakers, the subsequent silence was tangible. Caroline flickered her gaze up and didn’t miss the slight clench of her friend’s manicured fingers. It took a couple of years to learn all of the Mikaelson stories with each sibling’s very quick and very different. Placing the plastic leaflet on the mahogany table, she ignored the stormy blue eyes pointed at her. “You can talk to me about it, you know?”

Matt Donovan and Rebekah Mikaelson had been among the well-established couples at Mystic Falls High. It was a match made in cinematic heaven, class favorite football player with the admired, if not feared, new girl. Although the pair had broken up a year and half ago, it was only a week ago that Rebekah found out via Facebook announcements that he was engaged to Elena Gilbert. 

Rebekah tapped her fingers against the table, uncomfortable, “I haven’t heard from him since he gave back my things, and I don’t particularly want to hear from him,”

“Of course,” Caroline nodded. 

“And I’ve muted him on all my social media,” Rebekah continued, “I hardly have time to like every engagement photo,”

“Naturally,” She chewed her lip thoughtfully, “Do you think you’re ready to try dating?”

Rebekah scoffed, “Please, I’m not looking for anything but a new Chanel bag and this winter,”

“Come on,” 

Rebekah’s eyebrows furrowed and she took a sip of her drink. “You’re right. To be completely honest, Caroline,” She leaned forward, a picture of severity. “I would much prefer a Birkin,” 

A moment passed where they each stared at each other in silence. Then the two women burst into surprisingly loud laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Klaus’ voice interrupted them as he slipped into the open seat next to Caroline. The spiced scent of his Dior cologne filled her nose and she had to blink twice to pull herself out of memories from hours ago. He had showered, blond hair now closer to brown and curling to frame his face, and his legs were a hair’s distance from hers.  
“Finally, Nik! I was telling Caroline we should have just ordered without you,” Rebekah turned her head, long hair flying as she searched for the waiter. 

“Your consideration, as always, amazes me,” He answered her smoothly, adjusting the necklace underneath his forest green Henley. 

Their bickering was a familiar start to the night. Two years of living in New Orleans had been filled with semi-frequent meals with Elijah and Klaus and the more than occasional nights of binge drinking with Kol when he came back for vacation. In spite of endless complaints and snide comments about each other, the Mikaelson family seemingly couldn’t let go of each other, for better or worse. 

“Honestly,” Rebekah drew the word out, shooting raised eyebrows at her brother. They had all finished eating fifteen minutes earlier and they were sharing a semi-expensive bottle of red wine, “She can’t be serious,”

“I’m afraid she is,” He answered, tilting the wine glass to let the bloody liquid swirl, “Deadly,”

“Why doesn’t she make Kol do it? God knows he has enough leisure time,” 

“You can’t be serious,” Caroline narrowed her eyes, “He practically destroyed the house with his March Madness party,”

“He did get record attendance,” Rebekah countered, lifting a shoulder in muted respect, “He knows how to organize a party,”

“Mother wants class, and Kol’s parties are anything but,” Settling his glass back down, Klaus pulled out his phone and turned his attention to an email notification. Caroline ignored her curiosity, and refocused on her roommate, who remained less than amused at the current situation.

The yearly Mikaelson Christmas Ball was a New Orleans tradition, spanning more than a couple of generations. Even while they lived in Mystic Falls, Esther Mikaelson handled the organization and execution with a masterful eye for as long as Caroline could remember, although she herself had only been invited for the last three. Bringing together local socialites and the state’s political figures, an invitation was highly coveted and nearly impossible to come by.

For Esther to ask Rebekah to take over planning was completely unexpected and a mountainful of pressure with only two weeks left. The matriarch cited an issue with their father, an equally formidable and more terrifying figure, and had taken a flight to meet him in Europe that evening. 

“How am I supposed to run two boutiques during the busiest season and plan the most anticipated event of the city?” She took a generous sip of wine, finishing off the third glass of the night. Rebekah had a point. After her undergraduate degree, she had begun working at a small and exclusive boutique in the heart of the city and the job quickly became her passion. With a sharp mind for business, she had almost doubled its exposure with its target clientele and profits had increased well beyond the owner’s initial projections. Nearly a year later, Rebekah had been promoted to manager of the store and its new sister store. While she managed her time expertly, these winter weeks kept her late at the locations. It was unfortunately unsurprising that Esther completely disregarded that and decided to heap on this responsibility onto her only daughter’s shoulders. 

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Caroline began, before she had a hitch in her breath. A familiar hand was suddenly tracing patterns on her stocking. He continued to text one-handed, a wrinkled brow doing little to hide the hint of a smile on his lips. “Elijah will be here soon and he lives for this type of stuff,”

“Oh yes,” Rebekah opined, “That would be wonderful, letting him take over and do everything. If only it didn’t mean that I would have to hear the endless sighs and commentary from Mother about how maybe I’m not meant for the mantle,”

“The mantle?” She kept a concerned expression on her face as his hand traveled a bit further, ruffling her knitted dress.

“Whatever metaphor she uses to tell me that I’m not living up to her expectations,” She groaned.

He gripped her upper thigh and let his thumb run from the bottom of her stomach and slipped under the thin fabric of the stocking. “I’ll help,” Caroline’s voice rang almost an octave higher and Rebekah’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a voice closer to her usual tone, “I am almost finished with my final assignment and I can oversee the set-up when you’re at the boutiques,” His fingers were running circles across her overheating skin and she swore she would slam her thighs on him if he didn’t feel so _good._

Rebekah pursued her lips in consideration before shooting daggers at her empty wine glass. “I need another drink before I commit to this,”

With almost supernatural speed, Rebekah had left her chair to find an unsuspecting victim. Holding her breath steady until she saw her friend round the corner towards the front of the restaurant, Caroline shoved his hand back to his own chair and shot him a disapproving look. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He let his eyes drift from hers to her lips with a look that was hardly fitting for a man who just ate like a king. She crossed her legs and refused to think about the way it made her feel. “Among other things,”

“There is a time and a place, Klaus,” She swallowed the shiver that threatened to take over and added quietly, “But I want a rain check,”

“It’s a limited time offer, love,” 

Huffing at him, she gave him a pointed look, “I seem to recall a certain painter begging for me to come over this morning,”

He pressed his hand against his heart in faux hurt, “I do _not_ beg,”

“Could have fooled me,” She shrugged and broke into a laugh when he rolled his eyes. Flickering her eyes to the doorway, Caroline caught the sound of heels on the floor. Deciding to take a small risk, she leaned over and kissed him. Although she felt his lips move to meet hers, she immediately straightened up and returned to her glass. 

“I’ve decided, I’ll do it,” Rebekah announced, much calmer with a fourth glass of wine in her hand, “And I’ll take all the help you can give, Caroline,”

“What a generous friend” Klaus intoned with his cheeks a light pink. “It must be a Christmas miracle,”

***

A loud buzzing dragged Klaus out of his slumber. Pulling him from a black sleep, the sound was persistent and irritating. His clock read 2:00 AM and the heavy weight of his eyelids confirmed the late hour. Flipping his phone over, he scanned his notifications to search for Caroline’s name. They hadn’t seen each other since the dinner last week as Caroline’s finals were wrapping up and she began to join Rebekah’s strict party-planning schedule. Regardless, she still sent him updates of her trials, complete with dramatized selfies that never failed to draw a laugh from him.

It had been almost a year of their little arrangement and he would admit that he never expected it to last as long as it did. Initially, he was surprised that they hadn’t gone crazy and killed each other. When she was younger, Caroline had been very outspoken and this only magnified after high school. Before they had begun sleeping together, she had argued with him vehemently about every topic under the sun. From politics to pop culture, whenever they had been in a room together, it was bound to end with one of them trying to get the last word. Rebekah complained that he loved to needle everyone. Elijah would say that he was just rough around the edges and Caroline muttered once that they needed an industrial-grade buffer to smooth out his edges. Truth be told, he was completely aware that he was a strong personality, but the world wasn’t a place for soft people. The world made mincemeat out of weak people and Mikael reminded him of that every chance he got. 

It took him longer than he would care to admit to realize that Caroline was one of the strongest people he knew. When she moved to New Orleans, they ended up spending more time together than they ever had before and he couldn’t avoid the truth (Although, she preferred to spend most of the time fighting with him). While the cruelty his father gave him turned him inwards and made him callous at times, she pushed back against the world with a thousand-watt smile and compassion. Her strength was meticulous, like everything she did, and she would rather die than wear her tragedies on her sleeve. Although it could be overwhelming, and he knew it could be with the responsibilities that she heaped on her shoulders, she was full of a light that he wanted to drink in. She was beautiful in ways that he never thought would matter and he wanted to give her the world, although he was positive she could and would take it herself. He had never had to bear that level of honesty, but the longer they rolled around together, the more impossible it was becoming to deny what he was feeling. 

With no notifications on his phone, it didn’t take him long to realize that it left only one other likely culprit. He suppressed a groan as the buzzing continued. It continued until he finally rolled out of his bed and pressed on his intercom. 

“Do you realize it’s still the work week?”

Static filtered through, before he heard, “Nik, Thursday does not count as part of the work week, especially for starving artists like yourself,”

Like a typical younger brother, Kol Mikaelson had always found unique ways of getting under Klaus’ skin. When he was younger, Kol would sneak into the back of Klaus’ car and pop out, nearly causing an accident on multiple occasions. Often his only saving grace was that Elijah was never too far away. The elder Mikaelson often had to play mediator and calm Klaus down or else it was highly unlikely that Kol would have lived past twelve. 

Blinking the remaining fog of sleep from his eyes, Klaus suppressed a yawn before asking, “What do you want, Kol?”

“All I want is to give you my Christmas gift,”

“Come back tomorrow, like a respectable person, and then we’ll talk,” He was ready to turn back towards his room.

“I think you’ll appreciate --- “ Kol was distracted by a muffled voice. “Oh, you’ll ruin it --, “ The voice continued, too quiet for Klaus to pick up on. His curiosity kept him at the intercom, “Fine,”

Another second of static, before a different voice came over the speaker, “I knew I shouldn’t have let Kol talk me into this, but I actually didn’t book a room anywhere. Think you could let me up?”

Fully awake now, Klaus answered back, “Stefan?”

“The one and only,” 

Kol piped up in the background, “I told you you’d love it,”

Klaus wasn’t incapable of socializing, contrary to what many people assumed. However, he could admit that his list of close friends was short. When the Mikaelsons had moved to Mystic Falls, Stefan Salvatore had become an unlikely friend. Klaus had immediately hated his brother Damon, a boisterous bloke that rubbed many people the wrong way. He had heard that there was another Salvatore, but thought nothing of him until they met at a house party. Klaus had just witnessed Tyler Lockwood’s third attempt at a keg stand and slipped out the back to the relatively empty porch. The cool winter weather kept most people inside and he assumed he was alone until Stefan spoke. Both of them speaking more freely than they would sober, they ended up talking for the rest of the night. Raised by Giuseppe, the unofficial town drunk, Stefan had a similar rigidness that Klaus earned through his own father’s hatred. Whereas Klaus had a tendency to lash out, Stefan took the opposite approach, often internalizing whatever he felt. He often joked that Klaus could benefit from that approach.

It was only minutes later until Kol and Stefan were in his apartment and he had given up the expectation of a full night’s rest. Kol sprawled over the dark leather loveseat with his legs hanging over its arms. He had grown out his hair and the light brown locks almost long enough to cover his eyes. He had already raided his brother’s bar and was sipping on a vodka tonic. Downing his own drink, Stefan looked only slightly worse for wear after his red-eye flight.

“So how are things back in Virginia?”

“Same old, same old,” Stefan shrugged, “Damon’s touring Cabo, took off after he found out about Elena’s engagement,”

Of course. Neither the news nor the elder Salvatore’s reactions came as a surprise to him. Damon was the opposite of his brother in many ways, particularly in the fact that he made the whole world aware of whatever he was feeling whenever he was feeling it. He had actually learned about the upcoming nuptials when Caroline had stayed over last week. Attempting to fight off sleep, Caroline had shared the gossip while laying her head against his chest and stifling her yawns.

“I can’t say I’m surprised she ended up with Donovan,” Klaus admitted. The pair were childhood sweethearts and Klaus could see that he never fully got over her. That’s partially why he never liked that boy with Rebekah. That and the fact that he was as dull as rocks. 

“What about yourself?” Stefan’s forest green eyes shifted from the newest painting on the wall to his best friend, “Talking to anyone?”

Running a finger around the rim of his glass, Klaus maintained a nonchalant look and answered, “Who has time for romance? I've been too busy with my commissions,” That was not necessarily a lie. His exhibit last spring had broadened his clientele and the rest of the year had been filled with order after order. Ideally, he would avoid taking so many commissions, but Mikael had cut him off earlier than most of his siblings and he refused to live like a struggling artist while his father was still alive. It was tempting to tell Stefan about his situation with Caroline, mainly because he was realizing that he had no idea how not to screw it up. He wasn’t an imbecile and courting a woman wasn’t rocket science, but dating seriously wasn’t something he had ever been interested in until now. But Caroline wanted this to stay a secret and he wouldn’t ruin her trust over it.

He noticed Kol’s thoughtful look and raised an eyebrow, “Care to add something, Kol?”

“Well, I’m obviously living the life of luxury,” His brother waved him off, and he didn’t doubt it. Ever the hedonist, Kol never needed to be told to enjoy being a bachelor, “But really, Nik, I’ve been thinking about this. You need to get out there. You’re getting old and God knows someone needs to take care of you when you start exhibiting signs of Alzeihmer’s.”  
Klaus frowned, furrowing his brows in disapproval. “You’re only two years younger than me,”

Continuing on as if he hadn’t heard him, Kol said, “When is the last time you’ve actually been on a date?”

Stefan paused his ministrations with his drink to hear the answer. Klaus rolled his eyes, “I’ve been on plenty of dates, I’m not a eunuch,”

Snapping up from his relaxed position, Kol grinned, “Perfect, then you can do me this tiny, really insignificant favor and go out with my TA. ”

Klaus answered, “No,” 

At the same time, Stefan opined, “This can’t be ethically sound,” 

Shooting an unamused look at the younger Salvatore, Kol continued, “Please, Nik. I’ve just given you your best friend for Christmas,” Stefan snorted at the pleading tone that Kol had adopted, “Consider this your gift to me,”

“You’ll get a gift card, like every year,”

Kol sighed, and then opened his hands in a placating manner, “She’s majoring in art history and apparently you’re one of her favorite up-and-coming creatives. It’s just drinks and I think it would really help me pass this final, stupid elective. Don’t you care about your brother’s education?”

Rolling his head to look at Stefan, Klaus considered aloud, “Well, when you put it like that. Fine,”

“Really?” Kol’s eyes brightened up.

“No,”

Stefan cackled. Rolling his eyes at the theatrics, Kol shot up and stomped towards the bar, “Fine, then the least you can do is take a shot with me,”

That’s the last thing Klaus remembers before waking up the next morning. His alarm buzzed at 10:30 and his phone was filled with calls from Rebekah. Wincing at the aches throughout his body, he remembered that he had promised to help out with some of the final touches of the party planning. One extra pair of hands hardly would make a difference, but he wouldn’t mind lightening his sister’s load as well as seeing Caroline for a bit. On his way to the bathroom, he shot a cursory glance into the living room and almost laughed at the scene of Kol and Stefan snoring semi-comfortably over his furniture. Despite a cold shower and the strongest black coffee that his machine could muster, he arrived at the Mikaelson house with a splitting headache that only ever came when he drank with Kol.

As he slowly pulled into the winding driveway, he took in the small battalion of trucks and other vehicles that lined the estate. With the winter sun glaring, the employees carried a medley of decorations that matched the classic Christmas atmosphere Rebekah had explained to him in detail. For all her worrying, he had no doubt that his sister would exceed her own expectations and the annual event would run smoothly. 

The foyer already looked like a holiday card. A large wreath was centered on railing for the second floor. The long staircases on both sides were adorned with garland that alternated with stringed decorations and soft lights. Two naked trees sat at the bottom of each staircase and the chandelier. Although people filed in and out of the house, he couldn’t find Rebekah. However, he heard another familiar voice echoing from the dining room. Following a stream of arrangements of poinsettia and gold ribbon, he bit back a smile when he saw her.

In the middle of the room, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and the sleeves of her patterned sweater rolled up, Caroline was engrossed in a discussion with one of the employees. Holding what looked like one of the heavier arrangements, she furrowed her eyebrows as she listened to the employee. For as long as he had known her, she had always taken immense pride in her party planning skills. Better put, Caroline Forbes took immense pride in whatever task she did. He could still recall the fiery look in her wide eyes when Kol had teased her and Rebekah as they rehearsed their presentation on Manifest Destiny. She had worn her black blazer and thick fake glasses from CVS. Rebekah had humored her best friend, who had insisted on rehearsing it at least five times before calling it a day. Klaus had just come back with Kol from a football game and his brother had mocked their synchronized “Thank you” to an invisible crowd. Despite Kol being nearly twice her height, Caroline had stomped right over to him and shoved him out of the room. Klaus had doubled over in laughter at Kol’s expression and her angry gaze turned to him before she slammed the door to Rebekah’s room shut. 

Now, Caroline tilted her head as she considered whatever the employee told her. With his hangover turned to a bearable throbbing at the front of his head, he walked over until he was right behind her. “Running the ship again, love?”

He watched the slight jump in her shoulders and she quickly whirled around to face him. She held the floral arrangement close and the wide look of surprise in her eyes softened and the way it made his chest feel lighter than air didn't escape his notice. “Rebekah roped you in too?”

He was tempted to move a flyaway that strayed closer to her lips, “I am a dutiful brother, when I can be,”

“Always,” She seemed to have finally made a decision about the flowers and set them atop one of the tables with careful attention to the distance from the center. Seemingly satisfied, she turned back to him, “What are you waiting for? Let’s get to work,”

Work is certainly what it felt like. He never knew decorating to feel quite so rigorous as this. Rebekah had apparently delegated half the house to Caroline and Caroline ran her side with extreme attention to detail. She snapped at him twice to fix his lopsided fake snowmen and it only further confirmed to himself that he was lost because anyone else would have lost their tongue for yelling at him so much. Two hours later, Rebekah finally stopped by an hour later to check their progress. Caroline had him holding the bottom of a ladder as she strung up garland. 

“Well done,” Turning her gaze slowly about the room, Rebekah nodded approvingly at their progress. “I think we’ll be ready a day early. What do you think?”

“It’s gorgeous,” Caroline affirmed, “I wouldn’t worry,”

“Mother would love it,” Klaus added, albeit he and Rebekah both knew better. Although Esther Mikaelson was a fiercely loyal woman, she had always been quick to hold Rebekah to a high standard and never shied from telling her when she failed to meet it. His sister met his gaze and she gave him a half-smile at his compliment. “Kol’s back in town, by the way,”

She rolled her eyes, “I know, he sent me a rousing voice note last night. Stefan’s here too by the way, Caroline,”

Klaus didn’t miss the way her face brightened, even from his spot below. Stefan and Klaus had long been friends, but the younger Salvatore and Caroline became fast friends after his brother had stood Caroline up for a date at the Mystic Grill and she had rang his doorbell with a fury, ready to tear off Damon’s head until Stefan answered the door. Stefan had a way of making Caroline feel at ease and she always was happy talking about him. In some ways, he envied his friend for his relationship with her.

“Remember, you each have a plus one,” Rebekah pointed a finger at both of them warily. “Tell Kol the same, I don’t want a repeat of last year,” She twirled on her heels and headed back to the foyer. With the rest of the staff already enjoying their lunch break, that left the two of them left alone in the room.

Caroline slowly headed down the ladder and as she neared the bottom, he felt a rising confidence that this was his opportunity to talk to her seriously. When she finally reached the ground, he felt his mouth grow dry and didn't say anything as she started to look at her phone.

“I’m thinking about ordering Italian,” She was scrolling through options on her screen, “Do you want anything?”

“Actually I seem to find myself without a date for the party,” He pretended to be looking at one of the flower arrangements with interest, “And I have it on good authority that you are in a similar dilemma. Why don’t we go together?” He snuck a glance at her, noticing a slow flush spread across her cheeks and her fingers frozen above her phone screen.

“You mean, like a date?” She asked slowly, as if what he was proposing was unheard of.

“Yes,” He steeled himself against the possibility of rejection. He could handle that, he had had a lifetime of practice from living with Mikael, but he would at least ask. He wouldn’t shy away or dance around it like a teenager in love, “I would like you to be my date,”

“But we aren’t dating,” Her expression was no longer confused, but another emotion he was familiar with. Frustration. “We agreed that this wasn’t anything. You clarified that, pretty early on, if I remember correctly.”

“What if I said I want more now,” He’s not sure why the words seemed to have the opposite of his intended effect. “What if I said I don’t just want to take you to the ball, but I want to take you everywhere. I think you mentioned Paris once,” The words wanted to tumble out of him, but he restrained himself and instead waited for her to speak.

“Don’t,” The holiday decorations that they had set up provided an uncomfortable contrast to her tense shoulders and blazing blue eyes, “Don’t play this game with me,”

“It’s not a game, Caroline,” He wasn’t a desperate man, but this wasn’t begging. He could hear the new tone of insistence in his voice and felt his blood rush in his ears. Why was she doubting him so much? Was this really so hard to believe? 

She shook her head, “Then tell me why. Tell me what changed, because you’ve had a lifetime to tell me this,”

Stepping forward until she planted herself only a foot away from him, she stared up at him defiant and expectant and he’s quite sure that romantic proclamations weren’t supposed to turn into interrogations like this. His mind spun as every reason and every memory rolled in like waves crashing in a storm. Her obnoxious laugh when he tripped over a canvas, the countless Sunday mornings that she spent volunteering at the women’s shelter, how she smiled so brightly even when he knew she was pulling all-nighters, the way she just yelled at him over Christmas decorations. He didn’t know where to even begin and he started to realize that talking this over with Stefan might not have been a horrible idea, “It’s not something you can distill down to a short answer, love.”

“Caroline,” Rebekah’s sing-song call echoed into the room, “I need you, they’re mucking up the trees,”

He opened his mouth to continue, but Caroline put her hand up as she started to walk away, “Forget it, Klaus” 

***

Caroline was not angry because being angry would mean that she cared and she did not care about whatever stupid game Klaus was trying to play. They hadn’t spoken since that day, although he had sent a short text saying _I’m sorry if I offended you._

She left him on read. 

Her hands were wrinkling in the dish water as she scrubbed the dishes with passion, not anger. Sure, these plates no longer showed any remnant of her Mediterranean lunch, and her skin was starting to look like prunes, but she was simply being thorough. You could never be too careful when it came to sanitation. 

No, Caroline wasn’t angry, but if she were, it would be completely understandable because Klaus was being an asshole. Better put, Klaus was bored and a bored Klaus reveled in playing with people. During his summer break from university, he had spent much of his time irritating Damon Salvatore with a disturbing level of skill and precision for no other reason than the fact that he had the time and Damon was, well, Damon. Honestly, she had thought he had matured a bit since then, left behind his calculated and theatrical ways, but his performance two days ago was evidence enough that he was the same old maniac. 

When he had spoken, she was so sure that she had misheard or misunderstood. Everything he said seemed too much like something she had daydreamed about when she was in seventh grade. The smile, his insistence that he would take her anywhere, as if suddenly she mattered that much to him. She almost scoffed as she remembered it. Klaus didn’t care about anyone outside his family and himself and even if he did, there’s no way he had suddenly fallen for her. He had never so much as looked her way until she moved to New Orleans and she’s positive he only tolerates her now because they have pretty great sex together.

She couldn’t believe his freakin' audacity, that he would try and screw with her head like this. And before Christmas! For what? To prove that she wore her heart on her sleeve? To play around until he got bored and she got hurt? She could scream her lungs off if she thought about it too much. 

The doorbell rang and it was probably Rebekah’s assistant. He was supposed to bring some accounting books by the end of the day before galloping off on vacation. Inhaling and exhaling measured breaths, Caroline took ten seconds to calm herself. Plastering on a cheery toothless smile, she opened the door. 

Her fake cheer was immediately replaced by genuine happiness, “Stefan!” She tossed her arms around her favorite Salvatore. He wore a familiar ugly sweater with a demented elf on it and had brought over a box of cookies from one of the best bakeries in town.

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop by sooner,” He apologized into her hair before she broke the hug to usher him inside, “I’ve been interviewing all week," Stefan had studied Literature at Whitmore College and, as a recent graduate, was looking for an opportunity to teach. When he told her months ago about his plans to move down South, she almost burst his eardrum with her excitement.

For the next hour, the cloud that was Klaus evaporated from over her head. She hadn't realized how much she missed Stefan and she couldn't stop laughing as he told her about all the small town drama that she had missed. She told him about her internship that she lined up at the _New Orleans Tribune,_ which she still couldn't believe she managed to get after the exhaustive selection process. When he told her that the last interviewer essentially confirmed his selection and that he could start as early as February, she offered to help him navigate the apartment-hunting.

"It's safe to say, I've almost mastered the New Orleans market," She bragged.

"I have no doubt," Stefan winked before poking her side, "But Klaus actually gave me a good lead already. A two-bedroom that's only 15 minutes from the campus,"

Her nose scrunched up in disdain at the mention of Klaus and Stefan responded, "Oh, come on, Care. You can't still hate him," In that first year in New Orleans, she had called their shared friend more than once to complain about the constant run-ins with Klaus and his stupid smug smile when he knew had gotten under her skin.

"Hey, I never said I hate him," She defended and that much was true. She's pretty sure she used the word loathe or despise. 

Rolling his eyes at her poor evasion, he countered, "You're at his throat every time you see him,"

"He is insufferable!" She exclaimed in protest.

"Sometimes," Stefan conceded, "But you know some people have called you insufferable, too?"

"And?" She remained unbothered, having learned a long time ago about her occasionally polarizing effect on people.

Taking a sip of his own drink, Stefan took his time responding, "All I'm saying is that he's not the devil you make him out to be," 

The sound of the front door slamming made Stefan and Caroline jump. With a rare frazzled energy, her best friend tossed a long zipped bag in the general direction of Caroline before she headed straight towards the shower. Caroline caught it and shared a bewildered look with Stefan. “Nik said you were borrowing this!” Rebekah threw the words over her shoulder and the next sound they heard was the start of the shower.

“She is just as bubbly as ever,” Stefan observed and he peered over the back of the couch as if Rebekah might reappear to remind him just how cheery she was.

“And single, so here’s your shot,” Caroline teased, unzipping the bag with more curiosity than irritation.

“She would kill me,” Stefan muttered before returning his attention to the mystery gift, “What is it?”

She barely registered his question as a soft bejeweled fabric slipped from the plastic bag. It didn’t take her any time at all to recognize the dress. It was one of the antiques that Caroline and Rebekah would try on when they had sleepovers after sneaking up to Mikaelson’s attic. Although the family had an abundance of exquisite dresses, many more modern than this one, she had always loved this one best. _Look, I’m like Princess Grace,_ she had nearly tripped over the long soft blue dress as Rebekah stumbled around in vintage heels. She couldn’t believe it was here or that he even remembered. When did she tell him?

“Wow,” Stefan had leaned over to get a better look at it, “Good choice, Care,"

She didn't respond, instead processing what this meant. Caroline couldn’t very well ignore how touched she was by it. She had mentioned that she had searched for a dress at their house last week, yet hadn't been able to find it. But she had barely talked about it and he had been sketching on his couch while she complained in the kitchen. Feeling the soft material between her fingers, she realized her rage had been replaced with a bitter realization that maybe he had been sincere that day. More difficult to consider, maybe she had been wrong.

Caroline shoved her face into the gorgeous dress and groaned. 

***

When her cab rolled up to the glistening Mikaelson mansion hours later, Caroline kept her eyes on her matching bitterblue nails and reminded herself that they were too pretty to start biting. Nothing soothed her nerves better than social etiquette and she refused to roll up to the most exclusive winter event with chewed nails. After she had opened Klaus’ gift, Stefan had left to get himself ready and she was left alone with her thoughts. She tried to distract herself with the bustling prep alongside Rebekah. Unsurprisingly, nothing worked and instead she practically ripped her hair out with her comb and had to start her eye makeup over twice because she couldn’t stop replaying what he had said to her. What if she had told him that she had thought about him and Paris since the middle school? She should have shut up for once and just listened, but no, she was like a neurotic control freak on crack, ruining something before it even started.

Smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle on the side of her dress, she exited her cab and made her way into the house. Rebekah really outdid herself. The front doors were wrapped with gorgeous lights that made the red and gold ornaments glitter as if they were lights themselves. Soft holiday music filled the foyer and the guests were spread all about. Wearing more than she made in a year, countless well-dressed couples were spinning across the floor as others were laughing and drinking in the open spaces. 

“Well, you clean up well, darling,” Kol Mikaelson smoothly slid beside her and offered her his arm. Grateful that she didn’t have to face Klaus just yet, she let out a sigh of relief. She took in his fitted, jet-black suit and nodded approvingly.

“Not too shabby yourself,” She answered and he led her towards the closest bar.

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “It’s not difficult when you’re given a great canvas to work with,” 

Caroline tried but failed to contain her laugh. Despite his unending commentary, Kol was one of the best sources of entertainment. “Have you seen Rebekah already?”

He carefully passed her a glass of champagne. “Of course, I’ve already complimented her to the high heavens. I’ll leave the rest to Elijah and Nik, team effort, as you know,”

Her chest constricted at the sound of his name, but a sip of champagne soothed her momentarily. “Is Finn not coming?”

He rolled his eyes, “Nope, the poor bore is enjoying Christmas with Sage’s family,”

She nodded understandably. For politeness sake, she would never admit it, but Finn was a tough man to even make small chat with. Hardly the partying type, even by his own defintion. 

Swigging the rest of his drink with expert precision, he motioned to her glass, “Now, hurry up and down the rest. I would like the honor of your first dance, good lady,”

Concerns about Klaus and what she should even say were whisked away once Kol pulled her on the dance floor. Every Mikaelson had been put through strict etiquette courses and ballroom dance lessons at an early age. Esther and Mikael were quite conservative, maybe even archaic, in their expectations of their children. Finn had internalized their parents’ lessons until it left little room for anything else. While Elijah was the epitome of a gentleman, Caroline knew he had his fair share of loose moments albeit he hid them well. Rebekah managed the balancing act between modern young adult and Victorian values with a flair, but Esther refused to recognize it. Kol was a lost cause only because he wanted to be and Klaus. Well, Klaus was -- here.

Donning a black suit and a clean-shaven look, she felt her breath catch in her throat. Klaus was always good-looking, but when he put on a suit, which was a rare occasion, she felt like a middle-schooler crushing on her best friend’s brother. Kol spun her until he was out of her sight. Her stomach began to flip and her head spun, even as the music came to an end. 

“As much as I love this, ” She nudged her head away away from the dancefloor, “I think I’ll grab another drink,”

“As you wish,” He set his eyes on a quickly moving woman in red, “If Rebekah asks about the ice sculptures, you never saw me,”

Before she can even begin to think about what that means, Kol spirited himself back into the dance floor. It didn’t take long for her to locate Klaus. He was lined up near the dining room.

As she made her way over to him, Caroline tried to remember what she had practiced earlier. It was a simple formula. Step 1: Ask to talk. Step 2: Apologize as quickly as possible. Step 3: Tell him she wants to take him up on that offer for _more_. She refused to dwell too much on what that last part meant. She didn’t want to get too far into daydreams and fantasies.

“Hi,” 

Shifting his attention away from the twirling couples, Klaus’ eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of her. She watched his gaze slip over her form and felt a blush spread from her neck to her cheeks. Before he could speak, she blurted out, “Thank you for the dress. It’s beautiful and I don’t know how you knew, but I love it,”

“You look beautiful,” He said simply and her stomach did another flip.

“Could we go somewhere and talk?” She convinced herself to finish her thought, “I was wrong --”

“I swear I almost got lost in the bathroom,” A pretty woman in a deep purple, flattering dress popped up by Klaus’ other side, “At least, the drinks are easily accessible,” Noticing Caroline, a big smile spread on her face, “Oh, hello! I’m Cami!”

Only slightly irritated at the interruption, Caroline matched Cami’s warm expression, “I’m Caroline. It’s lovely to meet you.” Pausing a beat in order to resist the urge to look at Klaus, whose eyes she felt drilling into her head, she asked the night's popular question, “How do you know the Mikaelsons?” Most people exaggerated their ties to the family. The more entwined you were, the more powerful you were. At least, that's what people believed.

“I actually met Klaus through Marcel,” Cami's tone turned conspiratorial, “I honestly never expected to make it into one of these things, but thank God for good connections,” Cami’s green doe eyes sparkled at Klaus, who remained quiet throughout the exchange.

There were many things that Caroline had prepared for on the ride over. Most of the scenarios had been centered around Klaus deciding that he didn’t want to talk, but somehow through her amazing people skills, she would manage to convince him. None, genuinely zero percent, of those hypothetical situations included him bringing a date.

“Oh,” She nodded slowly as she tried to process the information. Of course, he brought a date. She had thoroughly rejected him, and he had a plus one, so what should she have expected. 

Feeling her cheeks redden out of embarrassment or frustration, she spoke in a pitch that was just a notch too high, “Well, I’ll leave you two to enjoy your night. It was nice meeting you, Cami,”

She kept her eyes on the oblivious woman before turning away. Her feet carried her past the dance floor and towards the entrance. A lump was forming in her throat and Caroline would not cry at a Christmas party. Besides, there was no reason to feel upset. They weren't anything, they hadn't been anything except hook-up buddies. Besides, she was the one to turn him down.

A hand wrapped around her elbow and tugged at her lightly, “Caroline, wait,”

She blinked once then twice to clear up her blurry vision. _You will not cry, Caroline Elizabeth Forbes._ “You should really get back to your date. I have an Uber to catch,” The lie gave her enough time to compose herself, before she turned to meet Klaus.

“If you would have stayed, you would know she --”

She interrupted, “It’s none of my business, Klaus. Seriously. If you want to bring a hot date to your family’s party, it’s no problem on my part. You’re a free agent, right?”

Her words stopped him for a moment. A beat passed and he narrowed his eyes at her, “Free agent?”

“Clearly,” She rolled her eyes, gladly trading sadness for frustration. She couldn’t help herself and she knew she should stop, but the thing about destructive habits is that they don’t very much care about whether or not you should stop, “Obviously, you have a little black book of hot blondes at the ready, so I guess I was just first alphabetically,” 

“You’re being ridiculous, Caroline,” He shook his head.

“I’m ridiculous? You’re the one who brought a freakin’ look-a-like of me,” She retorted, matching his narrowed gaze. It wasn't true, it wasn't kind, but she wanted him to feel as ridiculous as she did.

He snapped back quickly with venom, “Seeing as you rejected my invitation, I don’t think you have the right to say much of anything about who I decide to bring,” The words were true, but that didn’t make them any easier to hear. In fact, all it felt like was him pouring salt on an open wound. Pinching the length of his nose and closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself down. Exhaling slowly, Klaus returned his gaze to her and she didn't like how vulnerable he suddenly looked, “Why does it matter?”

Suddenly feeling tired herself, all she wanted was to go home, dive into the bath and forget this entire night. “It doesn’t,” And then she left.

***

When Christmas came around a few days later, the silence between them was only growing. There were no unread texts or missed calls exchanged this time. They didn’t meet in passing and she didn’t ask Rebekah or any of the Mikaelsons about him. For his part, Klaus managed to bow out of the festivities. Having left his gifts at the house before anyone arrived for the obligatory unwrapping session, he had told his family that a client had moved up their deadline and he needed every hour to finish in time for the new year. It was a convincing excuse, and she just hoped that it didn’t look strange that she had bailed too. Wrapping herself up in her quilted sheets, she used her high-school level acting skills to cough and moan an apology to Rebekah through the closed door of her room. 

While helping Rebekah tidy up the final remnants of the celebration, she observed how they were able to avoid each other with surprising ease when they didn’t want to see each other. It had never crossed her mind how much time they had spent together until all that time was freed up. Although the university wouldn’t resume lectures until mid-January, she used her extra hours to get ahead on her upcoming course readings. Rebekah did not hide her disdain at Caroline’s newfound, holiday pastime, but knew well enough to not disrupt her roommate’s rigorous study sessions.

The remaining days of the year passed in a blur until New Year’s Eve came around. The city started celebrating early and she could easily hear all the whooping and music from her apartment. She usually would be loath to avoid a night like this, but she couldn’t muster up the excitement and that was partly why she decided to bow out of the siblings’ plans to ring in the new year together at one of the most exclusive clubs in New Orleans. That and the fact that she had no interest in running into Klaus and whatever date he might bring this time. She was a consummate professional by nature, but she didn’t want to end up in the ER for rolling her eyes out of her sockets. 

Hence, she was enjoying a line-up of feel-good movies on Netflix with a buttery bowl of popcorn, sweets and her favorite sweats and sweatshirt on. Not her most wild night, but definitely a welcomed reprieve. Long locks set in a loose braid, Rebekah wore a slim fitting black dress and looked like a runway model. Running her eyes over the pile of warm blankets and carbs surrounding Caroline, Rebekah made a disapproving sound at her friend’s New Year’s Eve choice. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”

Caroline attempted to slide the bag of M&Ms under the blanket and away from her roommate’s critical gaze. “No, I’m fine here,” Adopting a bubbly tone, she felt her jaw ache because of the big smile she wore, “Seriously, go have fun! Find someone hot to kiss at midnight,”

Although Rebekah didn’t seem convinced, she seemed to recognize that pushing wouldn’t budge Caroline from the couch. She had already tried to convince her multiple times over the past few days and she probably hadn't really expected this last ditch effort to work. Sighing, Rebekah double-checked her make-up in the hall mirror, “I highly doubt I’ll find anyone with Kol and Elijah nearby. They effectively kill the mood. At least, one of his will ring in the new year right,”

That caught Caroline's attention. Pretending to be invested in the nutritional facts of the Sour Patch kids, she asked as nonchalantly as possible, “Oh, really? How’s that?”

Apparently satisfied with her appearance, Rebekah threw on her coat and didn’t even look Caroline’s way when she answered, “Kol finally broke Klaus down, and he’s going out with his TA. A pretty thing from what I’ve seen and God knows it would do Nik some good to get out there,” 

“Huh,”

“I know, stranger things have happened though,” Nearly out the door, Rebekah called out, “Don’t wait up!”

With Rebekah gone and her comments still fresh in the air, she chewed on the popcorn with a ferocious energy. Once again, it was none of her business. She did not care if Klaus Mikaelson, brooding artist extraordinaire, decided to go out with anyone. She almost cracked her tooth on a kernel and cursed before forcing herself to pay attention to the rest of _Notting Hill_. 

In the tiny travel bookstore, Julia Roberts stood across a bumbling Hugh Grant. _“_ _I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”_ She offered him a beautiful smile with tears in her eyes before she left the shop, leaving him shocked and wordless. 

She had seen this film dozens of times before and she knew the plot by heart. She knew that Hugh Grant loved Julia Roberts, but that he had been afraid of getting hurt. But when he gets his head out of his ass and he realizes what an idiot he is being because, hello, who rejects Julia Roberts, he doesn’t stop until he makes it right in front of the whole world. Then it’s happily ever after. She wanted to argue with the screen that real life isn’t so eloquently stitched together and that a big romantic declaration didn’t mean anything and you can’t just fix your problems by making scenes in public.

Dissatisfied with the fairy tale ending, she switched off the television and the black screen reflected her image back to her. It was just her in the apartment and the events of the past few weeks replaying in her head. Klaus’ asking her to the party, her rejection, the dress, his dapper suit and the pained look in his face both times she walked away. Over the past few days, she refused to dwell on any of this, preferring to focus everything on the anger and embarrassment she felt. Now, with no distractions, she felt her stomach lurch with something like regret. Why get her the dress if he only wanted to screw with her? Why chase after her when she was upset? What had he wanted to say before she lashed out at him again? The notion that she had screwed up majorly tugged at her heart strings.

Caroline closed her eyes as if that would stop the waves of emotions, but the memories told a glaring truth. He hadn’t hurt her. She had hurt him, twice, and now he was moving on.

Who could blame him? She practically yelled his ear off and iced him out.

When she looked back on that night, she couldn’t pin down what had changed inside her. It could have been that it was almost the end of the year. It could have been seeing Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant make love look like it was worth the risk. Or maybe it was because she couldn’t imagine him out with someone else, thinking she didn’t feel the same, maybe even that she hated him like Stefan said. Whatever it was, she knew that there was really nothing to lose. 

Before she could think about it a moment longer, Caroline had shoved on her favorite Nikes and had called for an Uber. The whole drive to his apartment felt like the longest minutes of her life. The car pulled up to the front entrance and she hopped out with a speedy thanks, promising to rate the driver five stars for his speed and efficiency on New Year’s Eve. While a small family exited, with their children pointing at the early fireworks in the sky, she slid past the open door with an ease that only comes from years of practice from sneaking out and back home during school nights in Mystic Falls. Hitting his number on the elevator, she finally let herself begin to contemplate what she would say. 

She was no Julia Roberts and he had always been the more eloquent one. Where would she even start? Should she say that she always had a crush on him? No, maybe she should say that she always knew he got under her skin, but she didn’t realize it was something she liked until now. She could imagine his skeptical expression at that. She was surprised at the slight tremble in her hands as the elevator doors opened. 

Worst case scenario, she would let him know that it’s a real shame for two people who are that good in bed together to stop having sex. It would put bad karma into the universe, a real tragedy. They could figure out the details later. 

Knocking on his door with surprising vigor, she didn’t stop until she heard him call out, “Kol, I told you for the last bloody time ---”

He swung the door open. Wearing a white T-shirt and grey jogging pants, Klaus was slack-jawed at the sight of her. A small part of her realized that this was the only time in all her years of knowing him that he had ever looked so completely and genuinely taken aback. Eyebrows quickly furrowing, he said, “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t go out with her!” _Well, that’s so not what I wanted to start out with._

“With who?” He asked slowly.

“Kol’s teacher, or TA, or whoever she is,” She swallowed the lump in her throat as she realized that movies never accurately portrayed how it felt like you were dying when trying to profess your feelings.

“Well, love, once again, I don’t see how who I got out with is any of your business,” _Fair point._ “You said we weren’t dating,” He took a step forward, almost in the hallway with her, “If I recall correctly, you told me I’m single, essentially America’s next bachelor,” 

_Drama queen._ She was tempted to retort back, but stuck with, “I didn’t say that exactly,” She scrunched her nose at him.

He crossed his arms over his chest and she couldn’t help but appreciate that he had clearly been using his newly acquired free time to work out. He didn’t say anything and instead appeared to be waiting for her explanation.

Oh, what the hell. “I don’t want you dating other people, I don’t want you to go out with anyone else. I don’t like thinking that you are out there, screwing some --”

He interrupted, “I don’t care about sex. I’ve told you I want more. In fact, I told you that --”

“If you would just let me speak --,” She felt her fists clench at her side, because _Seriously?_ He goes from giving her the silent treatment to this? If he would just shut up for a moment and let his ego take a holiday break, then she could explain --

“I don’t want to go through this melodrama, Caroline. Either you feel the same way or you don’t, but, I can’t keep --,”

“I love you, damn it,”

_Oh._

She realizes that it might be true the moment the words come out of her mouth. Refusing to bask in the surprise that it caused her, she mimicked his position and crossed her arms over her own chest, “Is that a straight enough answer for you?”

A wave of shouts and music echoed throughout the city. A litany of “Happy New Year's!” filled the silence between them as Klaus stared at her.

“And obviously you like me too, so I think it would be pretty stupid of you to --”

She didn’t finish her sentence. Stepping forward, Klaus had pressed his hands around her face and shut her up with a kiss. It wasn’t until she felt his lips soft against her own that she fully realized how much she had missed him. The tension in her shoulders melted away and she let her hands slide up his chest to settle around his neck. 

When he pulled away, he was wearing a smirk, “I’ve never seen you so flustered, love,”

“Oh, just shut up and take off your shirt,” Caroline ordered breathlessly and he laughed before pulling her into the apartment.

***

The next day, just around eleven and with Caroline still fast asleep, Klaus sent a text to Kol that he wouldn’t be going on that date later that day. When Kol sent back a series of expletives and question marks, Klaus responded that he was with someone else and ignored the subsequent rows of question marks in order to go back to bed.

Across town, at a small and bustling cafe, there was a table full of delicious breakfast foods and Kol was digging into the bacon while Stefan vacillated between French toast and waffles. Although the festivities from last night had kept them up late and both of them sported another set of self-induced headaches, they each had made sure to arrive much earlier than the others. Wearing dark sunglasses on a cloudy day, Rebekah arrived with minutes to spare and threw herself into the free seat next to her brother.

“Apparently, Caroline went out last night,” She winced at the cafe’s lighting as she removed the glasses, “And she stayed over at someone else’s place,” 

Kol swallowed another bite, before whooping too loudly for New Year’s Day, “What did I tell you?” He enjoyed the feeling of victory more than the delicious, fattening brunch laid out before him. 

Rebekah groaned as she slapped a hundred dollars into his hand, “Bloody hell, I really thought we had them at the Christmas Ball,”

Shaking his head, Stefan passed over his money, “We underestimated their stubbornness,”

Kol eagerly counted his earnings when Elijah walked up behind him. Ever composed and demonstrating no hint of the bottle of champagne he personally finished, the elder Mikaelson tsked, “You’re always too hasty, Kol,” He settled in the last open space, “If I recall correctly, you said New Year’s Eve, not Day.”

The gloating smile quickly left Kol’s face. Contemplating his chances of arguing against Elijah, he let his shoulders slump a moment later and he regretfully handed over the money, 

Wearing a Cheshire’s grin, Elijah pocketed the money, “Pleasure doing business with you,”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays! I want to start off by saying that I've never written anything this long, so I hope it worked out alright. I would sincerely like to know what you thought of it all! Also, I want to thank you for reading this work or any other things I've written! Your support means a lot! 
> 
> Shoutout to my sister for helping me edit!


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